Robert Colvile is a writer and senior comment editor at the Telegraph, who cares more about politics and policy than is probably healthy - for his newest pieces, please see here. He tweets as @rcolvile.

Just how much have the Lib Dems given up?

One quick point about the coalition deal, which seems not to have been noticed. People are worrying that the Lib Dems' promise to abstain on issues such as nuclear power or immigration means that they might not get through the Commons. But that's not the case at all.

Assuming the Tories win Thirsk and Malton, they have 307 MPs. If the Lib Dems abstain on a particular issue, and Sinn Fein don't turn up, the number needed for a majority in the Commons is 295 votes. In other words, if the Lib Dems do indeed abstain on a particular measure, rather than voting against, a disciplined Conservative Party can get it through the Commons with ease.

This is another reason why the more you look at the shape of the government, the better it seems for the Tories – at least, for those Tories of a Cameroon persuasion. By agreeing the abstention clauses, they've let the Lib Dems salve their consciences – but if the whips do their job, these measures should get through.